title: Critical role of neuropeptides B/W receptor 1 signaling in social behavior and fear memory.
abstract: Neuropeptide B/W receptor 1 (NPBWR1) is a G-protein coupled receptor, which was initially reported as an orphan receptor, and whose ligands were identified by this and other groups in 2002 and 2003. To examine the physiological roles of NPBWR1, we examined phenotype of Npbwr1⁻/⁻ mice. When presented with an intruder mouse, Npbwr1⁻/⁻ mice showed impulsive contact with the strange mice, produced more intense approaches toward them, and had longer contact and chasing time along with greater and sustained elevation of heart rate and blood pressure compared to wild type mice. Npbwr1⁻/⁻ mice also showed increased autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to physical stress, suggesting that impairment of NPBWR1 leads to stress vulnerability. We also observed that these mice show abnormality in the contextual fear conditioning test. These data suggest that NPBWR1 plays a critical role in limbic system function and stress responses. Histological and electrophysiological studies showed that NPBWR1 acts as an inhibitory regulator on a subpopulation of GABAergic neurons in the lateral division of the CeA and terminates stress responses. These findings suggest important roles of NPBWR1 in regulating amygdala function during physical and social stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Neuroscience and Integrative Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Ruby
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagata-Kuroiwa
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Furutani
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hondo
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Michihiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mieda
authors.forename: Natsuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsujino
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Motoike
authors.forename: Yuchio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yanagawa
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuwaki
authors.forename: Miyuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakurai
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018013:Receptors, Neuropeptide / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: C485721:Npbwr1 protein, mouse; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D018013:Receptors, Neuropeptide